Moderator: Chris Jorgensen, IPC
Panelists: Stephanie Rodgers, Apex Mills; Chris Mitchell, IPC; Jacqueline Campbell, CPSC

The smart fabrics industry presents a tremendous amount of opportunity for the U.S. textiles and technologies industries, but with those opportunities come challenges with consumer safety, government regulations and a qualified domestic supply base.

This panel will provide attendees with knowledge and insights on the barriers they will hit in getting products to market now and in the future, as well as how industry is working to address those barriers to reduce or eliminate hurdles. Following this panel, you will be able to bring back to your office helpful tools for your product development toolbox, including:

• Lessons learned by other product developers regarding consumer product safety and ways to avoid those pitfalls
• Environmental and public policy issues that this industry will run into and how you can work with policymakers to influence smart, relevant policies and regulations
• How to use industry standards developed by industry to establish a qualified domestic supply base as well as to reduce manufacturing costs and time to market
Attending this session will take you and your company from “Missed it by that much” to “Good thinking, 99.”

Seth Casden, Hologenix and Celliant®

Recent studies in the effectiveness of responsive materials have clinically proven they can enhance performance and recovery among healthy individuals by recycling InfraRed energy. Infusing fibres with certain minerals into the core gives products the ability to absorb electromagnetic light energy emitted by the body. These minerals then alter the wavelengths of this energy into InfraRed and reflect it, even through multiple layers of fabrics, making it possible for the tissue to absorb it. This process triggers vasodilation in the capillary bed and makes more oxygen available to your cells, allowing for more efficient use of it by the body.

This presentation will look at developments in responsive materials and the use of InfraRed technology for recycling human energy, with an emphasis on enhanced performance and recovery. We’ll review some case studies, outline some of the challenges made evident during research and development and discuss best practices for design and production. We’ll also discuss possible paths towards innovation concerning industrial methods, retail approaches and cultural education.

Jordan Schindler, Founder/CEO of Nufabrx

No longer is the day where clothing purchase is based on color, price or brand; what if primary decision making is driven by what benefit we want our clothing to impart on our bodies. Consumer health and wellness totally reimagined, and simplified, by delivering medications, vitamins and supplements directly through the garments that touch our bodies every day. Welcome to the world where textiles are the next forefront in drug delivery; and learn how everyday clothing is actually one of the best ways to solve patient compliance.

Jesse S. Jur, North Carolina State University; Department and Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science

Innovation in the smart space is challenged by a multitude of issues, including a lack of use case understanding, low-cost manufacturing strategies, and benchmark testing. Of particular interest is how best to utilize, develop or leverage academic research and development as a way to resolve these issues. This presentation explores academic-industry engagement strategies to help companies think outside the box and foster new talent in this emerging marketplace.

Paige Mullis, Glen Raven, Inc.

Discover 4 key elements needed to evolve your culture and why these are important. Explore examples and ideas of how to achieve these in any organization.

David Stieren,  NIST MEP

Manufacturers are unfortunately a frequent target of hackers and attackers. According to a report from the U.S. Department for Homeland Security, manufacturing has the second-highest reported number of cyber-attacks, second only to the energy sector. Join us for “The Importance of Cybersecurity for Manufacturers” with speaker David Stieren, Division Chief in the Programs and Partnerships Division at the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership. He will be sharing how technology has evolved and empowered manufacturers in a variety of ways, and how with those changes companies have become increasingly reliant on computer systems and IT, making cybersecurity a critical topic for the industry.

Dr. Alexander (Sasha) Stolyarov, CEO, AFFOA

Recent breakthroughs in fiber materials and processing conditions now enable us to develop multi-material fibers endowed with sophisticated functionality. Woven into fabrics, these multi-material fibers expand the application space of traditional textiles into highly functional systems with capabilities such as sensing, light emission, color change and more. This presentation will provide an overview of recent technological breakthroughs in advanced functional fibers and fabrics and will introduce the role of the Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA), a USA Manufacturing Innovation Institute focused on bringing novel advanced fabric capabilities to market for national security and commercial applications.